Bound
by pailyanchors
Summary: Paige and Emily are left in the wake of Nate's attack. Both are hurting and are swirled in a hurricane of chaos. How will they find comfort in each other?
1. Chapter 1

The morning sunlight crept through the open curtains and onto the bed, slowing waking the brunette who was sleeping on the left side of the bed. As she gained more consciousness, her pain intensified. Her ribs ached, her delicate skin bruised, her brain felt swollen, but amongst the pain, she felt a warmth next to her. An overstretched arm clung to her midsection like a seatbelt, relentless to give any leeway even as the brunette began to stir.

As she inhaled deeply, she was caught in a swell of emotion, _was this real?,_ Paige thought to herself. It had been two days since the kidnapping. Two days of police interviews, hospital visits, relentless questioning, two days of staring into eyes that bore nothing but guilt and unwavering pain. Emily had been relentless about not leaving her side, but Paige questioned whether it was from guilt or her need to protect her. Something had definitely changed within Emily and Paige could see it, but couldn't put a finger on it. There were so many factors, so many aspects of their lives that added to the hurricane of chaos they were both experiencing, not only were they teenagers with typical problems, they had both looked a very certain death in the eye. As Paige laid processing, her physical pain began to become unbearable, she needed her pain killers, but did not want to wake Emily. Laying there for several more moments, she finally decided to move, but unbeknownst to her Emily was already wide awake.

Lying in bed, clinging to Paige was the only thing that felt real to Emily. Feeling Paige's pulse and hearing the rise and fall of her breath, sensing her body heat against her own skin was the only thing that was grounding Emily to reality, the only thing that was keeping her from floating away into the depths of her mind. _How could I have let any of this happen? _she thought to herself, a reoccurring statement that played like a broken record in her mind, _how could I lose her?_ Silent tears began to fall onto her pillow for the fourth or fifth time that morning.

As she continued to cry, Emily failed to realize that Paige had woken up and was trying very hard to move without disturbing her solid grip on her waist. The pain in her chest and back had become too excruciating to continue lying in wait for Emily to wake up and Paige was determined to find relief in her prescription. As she stirred, Paige then realized that Emily had no intention of letting her go.

"Emily" she whispered, in the smooth voice, Emily loved to hear. "Em, I can't move, you have to let go of me a little, I need my meds" Emily moved her arm immediately as to not keep her from getting the pills she needed, and in turn kept from hurting her even more. Paige began to sit up and as she did so Emily quickly wiped her eyes in a hurried attempt to maintain some sort of composure, in an attempt to keep Paige from realizing what she was feeling. And although she believed herself to be successful, Paige had already seen it in Emily's eyes the night before. There was no fooling Paige, she spent years watching Emily, memorizing her physique, studying her emotions; she could write the book on Emily Fields. And although she could write the book, she was unaware of her crying girlfriend next to her until she fully sat up in Emily's bed.

Emily had insisted on staying with Paige, gluing herself to the kidnap victim from the time the nurses had allowed her to see her girlfriend at the hospital. After several rounds of x-rays, the doctors determined that she had several broken ribs, and would be quite bruised from the attack, but was otherwise physically fine. She recounted how she had been knocked down from behind and was kicked repeatedly until she blacked out, only to find herself bound with duct tape in a closet in a cabin, to countless police officers and detectives until she was blue in the face, Emily by her side the whole time. She had developed friction burns on her wrists from trying to free herself from her tight bindings, which were the least physically painful to her, but every time Emily held her hand, she could see the pain in Emily's face.

The girls were transported from the hospital to the police station and once the detectives talked with Mr. and Mrs. McCullers and Mrs. Fields, the girls were released into their custody. Although there was previously a lot of tension between the parents, this was now a time for peace between them and it was apparent that Emily was not going to leave Paige's side. Deciding that it was best for the girls to stay together after such an ordeal, Pam drove the two girls back to the Field's residence. Because of her broken ribs, Paige would need quite a bit of bed rest, and Mrs. McCullers would be by in the morning to check on her daughter.

That was yesterday and Paige hadn't moved from Emily's bed since. Two days. In any other circumstances Paige would have been overjoyed to spend two days in bed with Emily. Although they had only been seriously together for a little over a month, the girls found a familiarity in being together, a comfort in each other's arms, an equally matched passion in each other's kiss. It was two days ago that they had found each other lying across the room on Emily's window seat, Paige promising never to leave Emily's side, two days ago they would have never suspected the tables would be so skewed, so turned.

Paige finally sat up straight against the head board, reeling from the pain and noticed Emily's lying next to her legs, staring into space, puffy cheeks, framing her gorgeous brown that Paige loved so dearly.

"Em, are you okay? Talk to me, you haven't strung together more than three or four sentences in days. Please, you have to say something", Paige pleaded, slowly lying her finger tips to the girl's forehead, brushing aside stray pieces of her hair. What could she say? _"I'm sorry Paige the boy I kissed kidnaped you and could have very really killed you?" _It played over and over in her head, how could she ever find the words to apologize? How could she explain running to Hannah instead of running to her? Where did she begin? She couldn't bring herself to speak, let alone apologize to the amazing girl sitting next to her.

In lieu of speaking, Emily reached up for Paige's hand and kissed the back it and then gently caressed her own face with the softest skin she had ever felt. _She's safe, she's alive, I feel her pulse, I feel her skin, she's alive _filled Emily's head, temporarily suspending her melancholy thoughts. Realizing the reason Paige was sitting up in the first place; Emily silently rose from the bed and disappeared through the door, making her way into her bathroom grab Paige's pills.

As soon as she left the room, Paige breathed a small sigh of relief, _she's here, she's safe, she's alive._ The two were on the same wave length without even knowing it.

It had been five hours since Paige had taken her pills and was slowly waking up again. It seemed as if she was living in a state of clouds for the past few days, the pain had begun to subside in her chest and back, but her bruising had begun to turn deeper shades of purple. It looked more painful than it felt, but she still had quite a ways to go to a full recovery. It would be weeks until she could return to the pool, but more importantly it had been two days since she had even seen water, especially the shower.

Saturday marked a week since her life flashed before her eyes, a week since seeing the girl she was very much in love with risk it all for her, definitely a week from hell. Paige had moved back home to her own bed at the insistence of her mother on the condition that Emily would be welcome to stay with her. Mrs. McCullers had almost taken up residence at the Field's from morning to night, constantly checking on her daughter. This was both a god send, but Paige also an imposition on Pam Fields. Not only were the women sharing meals together, checking on Paige, and bonding over their daughters_, they were sharing meals together, checking on Paige, and bonding over their daughters_ and Paige was not sure this was the way she wanted to introduce her mother to Pam.

Looking around the room, Paige spotted Emily reading in her arm chair, and thought to herself _this is straight out of an episode of Gilmore Girls_. Sitting up drew attention from Emily, but she gave her space and allowed her to adjust in her bed. It had been a few days since they had an actual conversation besides _do you mind getting me a glass of water_ or _good night, let me know if you need anything_. Paige knew there was a plethora of things weighting on Emily, but danced around the idea of bringing anything to the surface, she fought the urge to hurt the girl she loved the most by talking about the incident or A and it was driving her mad.

Paige felt good enough to swing her legs out of bed and made her way into her bathroom, being observed silently by Emily the whole time. It was the middle of the afternoon and she knew both of her parents were at work. Mrs. McCullers finally eased up her hovering now that Paige was home, and she trusted Emily to call her should anything go wrong. Emily had in turn moved into Paige's house, sharing a room with her girlfriend, although several guest bedrooms were made available to Emily. Paige's family was much wealthier than the Fields, but often made little reference to it, Nick McCullers serving as a deacon to offset such a prestigious image.

Looking in the mirror, Paige could barely make out the abrasions on her face from where she was tapped. Although they were fading, her hair looked more wild than ever. Paige slowly stripped herself of her shirt and examined her chest in the mirror, she could not believe what had happened to her.

As quickly as the ordeal began, it seemed to last forever as Paige remembered the night. Not only was she ready to die for Emily, she had realized she had never properly told her she had loved her. _If I make it out of this alive, those are the first words I'm going to say to that girl. How can I die without telling her that?_ She relived it, as if she was watching a poorly made-for-lifetime TV movie. She had loved Emily for so long and was ready to protect her as best as she could, no matter the cost, no matter the sacrifice.

It was several minutes later that she realized that Emily had been trying to get her attention, while she had completely spaced out. Emily was now standing next to Paige, draping a towel around Paige's bare chest, asking her if she was okay. "Are you sure you don't want me to call your mom? I don't want you to be having an adverse effect from the pills, you really scared me just now! You were just completely zoned out, I didn't know what to do." Emily was close to tears as she pleaded with Paige.

"I'm sorry Em, I didn't even realize..." Paige responded. Now was not the time to bring anything up, it couldn't be, Paige wasn't ready for the consequences or the potential of losing Emily to guilt. They both weren't ready to bring up the fact both of them could have died, the thought was too fresh, too terrifying.

" I think I'm going to finally take a shower, it's been a couple of days. If I don't, I'm going to have to start dreading my hair, its taking on a life of its own." stated Paige, looking into Emily's eyes. "I'm okay, Em, I promise."

Emily reluctantly left the bathroom and threw herself down into Paige's comforter. _I killed someone, Jesus, I killed someone, I killed Nate, Nate killed Maya. _The cycle or reasoning began to fill Emily's head. _I stabbed Nate. Nate is dead. I am safe and Paige is safe. Paige was willing to die for me. Speaking to me with her eyes, I had never even told her I loved her. Of course I love her, but how could she die without me telling her? _So many questions that just staring at the ceiling would not answer.

The hot water beat down upon Paige's fragile skin, she was a fighter, she was strong, but she needed to relax. She leaned against the shower wall and let it all go, the tears she had not been able to shed that night, how scared she was, she was 17, this is not how she planned on spending her senior year of high school. She wanted to go to the movies, skip class, kiss her amazing girlfriend, go to prom; have a normal existence. And at these revelations she began to weep, saline mixing with the drops from the shower head and before she could realize what was happening, Emily's arms were wrapped around her, her beautiful body pressed against her own. She was silent but could hear Emily sobbing behind her, turning around, their bodies clashed into each other. Emily quickly grabbed Paige's face and pressed her lips onto hers with a fervor she had never shown Paige. An ache she needed to quell that only kissing Paige would cure.

It seemed as if they had stood there kissing under the water for eternity. For such a long time there was a disconnect between the two, even if they hadn't been separated in a week. They had watched countless hours of television, seen a million movies, read novels for school, and slept arm in arm, but the silence had been deafening. Until now, Paige wondered if she was losing Emily, but as they fell into a rhythm of deep, passionate, desperate kisses, Paige knew Emily was far from leaving her.

Drops of water hung on Emily's eyelashes and Paige had never seen or felt something so beautiful in her life. There in the afternoon sun, under the baptism of water, the two clung to each other, stopping the world's turning, ceasing the churning of their hurricane. Their hearts connected and beat in sync, Emily rested her head on Paige's shoulder, while the rest of her body trembled, whispering "I love you Paige, I love you so much, I don't think I can even begin to put it into words" into the other girl's ear.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Firstly, thank you Paily family for the reviews and likes and follows and general feelings of love! I adore the fact that I've found such an amazing group of people who I can share all of the feels with! Secondly, I'm sorry it has taken me this much time to update the second chapter, it's been tough processing/continuing the story line (and the start of the fall semester at school hasn't helped either) but hopefully I'm doing Paige and Emily justice in continuing. Please, please, please leave more reviews. I've started a third chapter, so hopefully it'll be up quickly. xx-Amanda**

**PS it's a bit smuttier than the first chapter so hopefully I don't screw it up!**

After what seemed an eternity, the hot water in the McCuller's household began to run cold and Paige turned off the tap, but the two remained intertwined until they began to shiver. It was Emily who finally broken their embrace and stepped out and grabbed two towels, wrapping one around Paige and the other around herself. It was easy to take care of Paige, she neither fussed nor gave her a hard time, and it felt comfortable and familiar. She then helped Paige dry off, admiring her stunning body, despite the bruising, and brought her into her bedroom to help her get dressed.

In a new kind of silence, Emily opened the various drawers of Paige's dressers and selected the most comfortable shirt and shorts she could find for Paige and then some items for herself. Walking back to Paige who was seated on the edge of the bed, Emily slowly lifted Paige's arms above her head as she put a blue and black tie-dye shirt. It was one of Emily's favorites and reminded her of much simpler times.

The Rosewood Sharks were a team known throughout the region for their amazing swimmers, fierce competitive nature, as well as the comradery among their swimmers. The girls were tightly knit to each other through their competitive spirits which made them such a strong team. Because of bond between teammates, they held countless events both at school as well as outside of school from bake sales and fundraiser drives but also team tie-dye events and parties. After Emily and Paige's short lived romance the previous year, Paige was fearful that these events would be awkward and began to attend them less frequently. Although her swimming was more stellar than ever, she seemed to be fading into the background of the team. It wasn't until she came out to her parents and many of the girls on the team did she begin to find her brick in the wall.

One event that was particularly memorable was the upperclassmen tie-dye party, bringing the two girls back together. Because Emily and Paige were both the top swimmers on the team, but also two of the five seniors, it was tradition for the team to get together the week before school started and tie-dye every bit of their team regalia they could. The event also served as a welcome party to the incoming freshmen who had been recruited into the team, and because Paige had the largest house and a full sized swimming pool, the McCullers were more than happy to host the party.

After receiving calls and texts from the girls on the team about the party, Emily was excited that this would be her year to finally get to tie-dye her countless Rosewood Sharks t-shirts as well as anything else she could get her hands on. The day before the party, Emily received a text from Paige asking if she would like to go shopping for some extra t-shirts with her. Although things had been rough on Emily since the returning to Rosewood from Haiti, she agreed that she needed to acclimate herself with her teammates, especially Paige, if she was going to survive her senior year.

Meeting her at Target, the two awkwardly approached each other in the parking lot. Paige noticed that Emily looked more fantastic than ever and the feelings she had fought of for almost a year began to stir violently in her chest. For so long she had told herself to move on, but just like a light responds to a flow of energy from the flick of the switch, so did Paige's heart as it begin to beat again. "Hey Paige" Emily exclaimed as she closed the distance between their cars. "Hey Em" responded Paige. Maybe this wouldn't be so difficult after all, they were only going to pick out some t-shirts.

The simple night became a re-bonding session, each girl exchanging their summer adventures, their fears about senior year, and their potential plans for after graduation, as well as the shopping therapy. Both girls fell into the comfortable rhythm of listening to each other and trying to make the other giggle. They were so easy together and Paige made Emily laugh and forget the world standing in the middle of Target. The next day the party was a success and each girl took home memories that they would cherish forever, especially Paige. Because they had gone out the previous night, any signs of awkward distance vanished between the two and the team became a whole family again.

After dressing Paige, Emily put on a pair of Paige's shorts and one of her tank tops, this was special to her and made her feel closer to her girlfriend. Although Paige was always first to shed her jacket should Emily feel the fall chill, knowing that these clothes touched Paige's skin and held her while she was sleeping, brought a comfort that Emily had been missing. She then grabbed a brush from the sink and began to comb out Paige's hair. _This is a return to normalcy _she thought to herself. After braiding the brunette's longer hair and placing soft kisses on the back of Paige's neck, the two laid back on top of the bed.

They both laid there next to each other for hours, just enjoying the company. Paige's mind felt empty for once, which was a change for her. For the moment, she didn't need to worry about A or the troubles that plagued her and Emily, she was content and it felt heavenly. She rolled over and snuggled up to Emily who seemed to be on the same plain as Paige for the time being. As Paige draped her arm over Emily's stomach, she watched as Em's trademark smile stretched across her face. _Things were going to be okay_, Paige thought, _no matter what, we will always have each other. _

A soft knock at the door disturbed the girls sometime later; Paige's mother was home from work and wanted to check on the girls. It had been a week and Emily had very much grown on Anne McCullers. Although the past incidents involved Emily, she did not blame the girl for anything, and had found her to be a sweet girl, who clearly and ubiquitously loved her daughter. She informed the girls that she was about to start something for dinner and wondered if they would like to join her. Nick McCullers would be out of town for the next four days with his consulting business and she was not sure whether to make a larger meal or just stick to cereal. Paige thought it was amazing that her mom had handled everything she threw her so well, from her past bouts with depression, coming out, and now her kidnapping, as well as being so gracious in letting Emily stay with them.

Although Anne had watched her daughter struggle, she knew she had raised a tough, yet sensitive girl. After her own father had passed away two years earlier, she herself had slipped into a state of depression, counting on her daughter to fend for herself. Little did she know at the time, Paige had also fallen into a state of her own chaos from his death as well as being relentlessly bullied at school. Her father and Paige were inseparable from the time that Paige could crawl.

It wasn't until she found her daughter cutting herself, did she realize the trauma she had been experiencing. From that moment on, Anne knew that she needed to take care of Paige and the two of them formed a solid bond.

"We'll be down soon. Thanks mom." Paige answered her mother as she closed the door. Despite the circumstances, Paige began to feel at home, with two of her favorite people by her side. She especially loved sharing an afternoon in which the girl of her dreams had told her she loved her. The road was certainly tough to get here and she wished she could change the path, but she was happy for a moment in time.

For so long Emily walked tall with her guard up, reluctant to let anyone else in, although she occasionally opened a window to her friends into her mind. She often was good at showing just the right amount of emotion at the right time and leading everyone into thinking she was okay, and found it extremely ironic that her friends thought it was Paige who had a dark side, when in reality it was her.

Emily had never had it easy in any right, her home life was strained because of her dad's military involvement and his various deployments from the time she was a child. This often left Pam Fields as a single parent of sorts and although the two Fields women were close, Emily had a stronger connection with her father. Because of Wayne's assignments that left the family separated by vast amounts of space, Pam was definitely head of household, and made many of the family's decisions as well as worked full time. Because of this, Emily was often left to her own devices and often found herself tagging along with different groups of friends to fill time. Emily soon fell into Alison's snare and years later the memory of Alison's abuse lingered.

And this became the downfall of Emily Fields. Not only did she loose two women she adoringly loved, she now had to process and face the reality that she came very close to losing another one. She also needed to begin to process the fact that a man died at her hands. Although it was not her fault and she killed Nate in self-defense, it was still terrifying to think of that night or any memory that involved the disturbed twenty something.

After spending the week with Paige, it seemed like her world was starting to slowly come back together. She had the perfect girlfriend who loved and cherished her and there was nothing that could ever keep them apart. After dinner on Saturday night with Anne McCullers, the girls headed back upstairs, finger linked, stepping step in step.

Paige's room was spacious, the walls were painted a shade of blue that reminded Emily of the deep ocean, she had a queen sized bed that was located in the middle of room and was the most comfortable thing Emily had ever slept on. Her desk was right next to her bed and her walls were covered in posters and several strands of Christmas lights hung from her ceiling. She had several bookshelves that framed the opposite wall with white square Ikea chair. Her red pillows and comforter accented the bed and Emily slowly guided Paige down onto it. Tonight Emily had other plans than to just cuddle Paige and was going to release her dark side.

Emily made her way onto the bed and straddled Paige's hips and Paige laid back down into the pillow top. She and Emily had started sleeping together the night Emily kissed her by the pool. After swimming laps together, Paige caught Emily against the pool wall and continued their intense and unexpected make-out session, intertwining limbs and lips, and slowly pulling Emily out of the pool, across the yard, into her house. Because her parents were out of town, there was no reason to be shy, after all, this was Emily that was here kissing her, this was the moment she had been waiting for her entire life. And although she felt shy at the beginning of the evening, something was unleashed inside her and she wanted to prove to Emily that she had no intention of ever losing her again.

She led Emily upstairs to her room, much like Emily had brought her up tonight, and the two passionately explored each other's bodies that night, and for many nights, afternoons, noons, midmornings, early mornings, and all the times in between. Paige could feel that tonight was different from the others, Emily had a look in her eye that was darker than ever before and it was an unbelievable turn on.

Aware of Paige's recovery and various tender spots, Emily tried her best not to put the entirety of her body weight on Paige as she leaned down to kiss her. Hungrily accepting Emily's lips, Paige converted her energy to match Emily's. Knowing that Emily would intend to be gentle, Paige had other plans in mind and wrapped her legs around Emily so that their hips matched each other's mounting pressure. Each girl had the goal in mind to please the other, and although they had not slept together in over a week, it was clear that they had missed the physical intimacy on both a physical level as well as an emotional level.

As their tongues dueled, Paige's hands roamed the expanse of Emily's body, re-memorizing each curve, feeling the warmth of her skin beneath her fingertips, exploring the resistance of her muscles. Wrapping her hands into Emily's hair made her moan into Paige's mouth, sending Paige into a frenzy. _I literally can't pull her in any closer, but this still isn't close enough_, Paige thought. And although she was on top of her, Paige drew Emily closer and closer into her own body. The pain in her ribs was still fresh, she didn't care, her endorphins were over taking control.

As Emily broke the kiss, Paige flipped them over and took position straddling Emily's hips. Leaning over, she began to kiss Emily's neck, starting gently but then applying more pressure with her tongue. Paige could feel Emily moaning each time she moved to a new spot. Paige then began to bite the soft flesh which Emily loved. In turn Emily was slowly and lightly running her hands under Paige's shirt and as she danced around the brunette's spine, shivers shot through Paige's body. The reaction that Emily had been looking for turned her on so much that her hips unintentionally and reflexibly bucked against Paige's. A growing need for Paige's lips to be all over her body was intensifying by the moment. She had every intention in satisfying Paige first but she was making it difficult to take control and Paige knew it.

Ripping off Emily's tank top exposed her perfect body and as soon as it landed on the floor, Emily had Paige's shirt over her head. If she was going to relinquish control, she wasn't going down without a fight. The two were so competitive at times that it seemed if they forgot they were a couple, rather two athletes going for the gold. This was especially true when it came to sex, which proved to be both good and bad, often wanting to please each other so badly, the forgot to slow things down and just enjoy each other passion.

Paige soon moved from Emily's neck to her breasts, teasing the tan girl, causing her to moan even louder. Shifting her body so that her knee was in between Emily's leg gave Paige the upper hand. Knowing that she was not going to win, Emily conceded to Paige and at this Paige kissed a trail down to Emily's hips. "Paigeee, pleaseee" escaped Emily's mouth breathlessly. She craved for the girl to touch her and make her see stars, to surrender to the one and only person she felt safe with. It was about more than just sex and feeling amazing, it was about trusting Paige, it was about being hers, it was freeing herself with this amazing girl. And hearing Emily beg was enough to make Paige go wild.

She slowly and teasingly removed Emily's shorts, prolonging the need for release. "Paigggee" Emily moaned; she didn't know how much more she could take and at that moment Paige slipped her fingers between her thighs and made small circles on her supple skin. It was driving Emily mad not to have Paige touching her. Finally seeing that the tan girl was about to explode, Paige made her way down to Emily's core. Starting slowly, Paige began to nip at Emily's clit, circling her in a pattern that Paige knew would get a reaction out of Emily and that it did. Moaning quite loudly, Emily grabbed the back of Paige's hair, with the last bit of control she had. Paige knew it was all over for Emily and with one last flick of her tongue, she sent Emily over the edge.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you paily family for being patient with me for the last week! Also the continued love is amazing, the follows and likes aer truly asounding, I've never imagined that anyone would like my writing, let alone all of you! I've been devoid of time and have been looking for the right amount of inspiration to make these next chapters just right. Pandora is definitely a life saver when it comes to writing. willowhave116, I'm uploading two chapters today and have the intention of getting up more within the next couple of days, your comment totally made my day, so thanks. brittga youre amazing! thank you for your tumblr msg the other day, totally got me on the right track again :). Without further ado...**

_Emily ran as fast as she could through the woods, Nate was at her heals and she felt as if her body would give out before she reached any kind of safety. The leaves and brush scratched at her face as she ran though the unfamiliar forest, leaving small abrasions, on her body. She pushed on further until the lighthouse came into her sights, like every horror movie she used to love, she found herself climbing the mountain of stairs, searching for cell service. It was worth the risk of being revealed by the light, but she needed to dial 911. _

_She had left Paige bound on the couch. She was willing to leave the girl in some sort of safety and lead Nate on her trail. Paige was smart and tough and Emily knew she would be able to get herself out of the duct tape. She saw it in her eyes, she knew she had to run, to save the love of her life; she needed to get Nate away from Paige._

_Reaching the top platform, she quickly paced around the top in circles, but with one fell swoop, she was falling, falling quickly until she hit the water below her. Struggling to find air, she resurfaced only to see Nate throwing a lifeless Paige off the cliff into the waters next to her. Thrashing about, she struggled to make her way to Paige but the waves were too high for her to battle. He had gotten to her, she thought it was impossible, but he had Paige. There was no way to reach her._

"Emily! Emily! Wake up! It's only a bad dream." Paige tried as hard as she could to shake her girlfriend awake, but with no avail did the movement stir Emily.

_Emily continued to swim toward Paige, she was now wearing a white dress, which was unusual to see Paige in something so out of character. She was also sinking quickly and Emily seemed to be drifting in the opposite direction with every stroke through the storm. It had begun to downpour and the rain was stinging Emily's eyes. She could no longer see Paige. She gave up and looking around her the water began to fill with blood. Emily raised her hands and felt a sharp stinging in her stomach. Screaming out, she could no longer contain her pain. _

Paige now panicked, Emily was not only thrashing in her sleep, she was now screaming out Paige's name, loudly in fact. She had no means of waking the screaming girl and shaking her was useless. This was happening too often, these dreams, these nightmares were overtaking Emily. Thinking quickly on her feet was a trait of Paige's that Emily had always admired and now was the time to put it into action. Paige looked around her room and noticed the glass of water that she had from earlier in the evening and with one swift motion poured the rest of its continents on Emily.

As soon as the water reached her face, Emily's eyes immediately opened. Unaware of her surroundings, terrified, she bolted up, throwing punches, to find a body sitting next to her, landing a solid punch the figure's torso. Paige recoiled from the surprise and pain of the punch, wishing for the only time in her life Emily wasn't as physically strong as she was. And upon hearing the grunt and breath of the figure next to her, Emily realized what she had just done, her face was soaking wet and was panic stricken. Not to mention she had just landed a solid punch into her girlfriend.

"Paige!" she exclaimed realizing what she had just done and feeling the pangs of guilt for her actions immediately, "Oh my god, are you okay?" She could not believe what had just happened. She had no idea she was in such a traumatic state, that she hauled off and punched the first thing she saw out of pure fear. "..I.. Paige…say something…please" Emily pleaded once again for the millionth time that month.

"Third time this week" Paige raspily stated, "I couldn't wake you up. I had to improvise." Paige slid off the bed and grabbed a towel that was hanging on the back of Emily's door. Once she made her way back to the bed, she wiped Emily's face gently, placing a kiss on her damp lips. "I'm fine, sometimes I wish you weren't so strong though" she said with a forced grin. Emily had practically knocked the wind out of her, but she refused to let her see her in pain. Bruises can heal, but leaving more guilt on the conscious of the brittle psyche of Emily was too much to bear. She had begun to understand the terror Emily was truly feeling every night as they fell asleep. They would begin the night in each other's arm or cuddled up to each other, but only after a few hours of stillness Emily would fall into a state of chaos, often thrashing or kicking her way out of the covers or Paige's arms.

Most nights the tantrums would only last ten or fifteen minutes and Paige could shake Emily out of them gently. When they first began, she could shake the sleeping girl and once she woke up, she would place a kiss on Paige's lips, apologize, and cuddle up to her, falling back to sleep. But within the last few nights the nightmares were so bad Emily often screamed in her sleep or kick so hard she knocked herself onto the floor. The worst part of it all was that the dreams were so vivid, Emily could recall every detail and spent the rest of the night awake lying in bed trying to catch her breath, trying to subdue her fear of falling back to sleep, subdue her fear that the nightmares would become real.

"We were in an ocean, you were sinking, and the harder I swam toward you, the farther you moved away." Emily began recounting her nightmare. "You were in a white dress and then you sank. I couldn't find you and then I was bleeding from my stomach. There was a storm, the waves were churning and I couldn't stop it, I couldn't find you." It made sense to Paige and she understood but the nightmares were not just a plague to her girlfriend, tonight was one night she hadn't woken up in a cold sweat herself. Paige's nightmares were less real than Emily's but were still as stressful. And although she did not become as physically responsive, she would get lost in remembering them during the day, completely freezing and loosing herself in her head.

Emily hadn't realized that she was shaking and once she took a breath, Paige noticed too. Moving closer to her girlfriend, Paige wrapped her arms around the still fragile girl. Paige wrapped the two in Emily's comforter and laid them back down on the queen sized bed. Emily's breathing was still ragged and her body was tense and as the heat from Paige's body met Emily's, she began to melt. Turning over she curled up into Paige and inhaled her scent, vanilla, honeysuckle, and cinnamon and placed her lips under Paige's earlobe. Intertwining their fingers, Paige raised their interlocked hands to her lips and placed a kiss on the back of Emily's hand. In the dim light of the moon, Paige gazed upon the curves and details of Emily's face and realized that she had never seen her so beautiful through all of the pain. Leaning over, she pulled Emily even closer to her body and as she held onto the tan girl's and felt her breathing relax. Knowing she had fell back to sleep peacefully, Paige breathed a sigh of relief.

Two weeks had passed since the incidences that had brought them together and they had grown closer than ever. It was a Sunday night and the girls were returning to school in the morning. Looking over at Emily's clock, Paige noticed that the two could only get two more good hours of sleep before they had to get up and get ready for school. Upon Wayne Field's insistence, the two girls would have to start seeing Dr. Sullivan that week too. Although he was away, he had a strong relationship with his daughter and knew from his own experiences, his daughter would definitely face a hard time dealing with the consequences of her own war. He was also worried about Paige as well, he had seen the way his daughter's face would light up over Skype when she mentioned her and he owed her a debt of gratitude for saving and taking care of his daughter. Although he never imagined Emily's life to turn out quite like this, he was happy that Paige was in it and she had definitely proved herself to him. Although she was strong herself, Wayne felt better knowing that Paige was strong enough to take care of his only daughter. Realizing he was right about talking to someone, Paige was still nervous about talking to Dr. Sullivan.

She had a tough week ahead of her and was reluctant to have to face it. She was apprehensive to return to the chaos of the social hierarchy known as high school but she had been keeping up with her classes from home, and Paige would be going into the remainder of her senior year with a group of four friends who now protected her like blood.


	4. Chapter 4

The girls had been over Emily's and Paige's houses countless times to check on the girls, Spencer leading the group. She knew she had wronged Paige and desperately wanted to make it up to her, realizing the trauma her faults, but all Paige wanted was admittance into their group, and that Spencer could provide. As the unofficial momma bear and resident pit bull of the girls, Spencer took Paige under her wing. It was her personal mission to help Paige and was a key factor in bringing Paige home her school work and relentlessly making sure she was academically on track, even bringing up her Trigonometry grade to a solid A-. The two shared a matched intensity that Spencer found both intimidating and heartening as well as the common wellbeing of Emily. Together they were a force to be reckoned with and no one would think to cross them or anyone they cared about. If A was out to get them, these two powerhouses were ready.

Upon waking up that morning, Paige held a weight in her chest that was like no other. She and Emily had worked on school work for the past week and she was ready for classes but there was no way she could prepare herself for the countless looks of judgment or pity from her school mates. As she rolled over and she noticed that once again Emily was already awake looking paler than she had ever seen her. Their honeymoon was over, their parents had discussed the fact that the girls had moved in and thought it was time that they needed to focus on school and a return to normalcy. Much to the girl's displeasure, the understood that they needed some time apart and didn't want to begin to smother each other. Paige would be spending the night in her own bed alone and that reality hit her like a pile of bricks. Rolling over she threw her arm across Emily's stomach and curled up to her body, resting her head of the girl's chest. She was afraid for Emily, who was going to wake her up from her nightmares? Last night had been horrible and she didn't want to leave her alone. She crawled up and kissed Emily's neck and made her way to her lips.

Emily was distant from Paige, lost in thought, barely responding to her kiss, laying there in a trance. Paige only curled tighter around the girl, resting her head on her shoulder. "Come back to me, Em. I'm right here, you're okay. Em" she whispered into Emily's ear. And as Emily felt Paige's breath on her ear, she returned to her bedroom, noticing the fan blades slowly turn above them. _I'm losing it. _Emily thought to herself. _How am I supposed to listen to any teacher in class when I can't even pay attention to Paige? Aren't life's lessons strange? I should be focused on European history, not the specifics of murder or nightmares. Everything is telling me to stay in bed all day again. Why should I fight it? _She rolled over into Paige and buried her head in her embrace. It was ten of six, it wasn't too early for the two to be awake, often swim practices started at 6:15, which meant the girls would already be on their way, if not at school already. Life had gotten in the way of swim practices and Paige was missing the water desperately, she felt that innate need to be free, to push, and to be pushed beyond her limits. She craved physical exertion and a full recovery was still a few weeks away. Paige was always overly athletic, excelling in swimming and field hockey, as well as running and biking. She craved those endorphins and self-medicated through the ache of sore muscles.

As they laid together, Emily began to realize how much she was going to miss sleeping in the same bed as Paige. Physical touch had always grounded the girl's relationship, but even though they drifted apart most nights, feeling the weight of the girl beside her was going to be a tough adjustment. Pam casually knocked on Emily's door to make sure the girls were awake and as she opened it she was greeted with a disgruntled wave from Emily, signaling they were indeed already awake. Allowing the girls to get ready for school in privacy, she moved downstairs to begin making breakfast for the inseparable pair. Pam was worried for her daughter and most nights heard her screams in her sleep, comforted by the fact Paige was there, usually kept her from getting up to check on the girls, but tonight would be different as Paige would be returning to her own house. It was an arrangement that Nick had been bent upon and although Anne and Pam were not as keen on the idea, it would have to happen sooner or later.

Paige stirred first, guilty for unraveling the broken girl from her embrace, kissing her forehead, Emily replied with a heavy sigh. Leaving Emily laying on the bed, she left the room and went to shower. As she undressed she checked her reflection in the mirror, tracing the outlines of her bruises with her fingertips, they were fading nicely, but she could still see them, she would always be able to see them. She turned on the water and stepped in even though it was bitterly cold. The combination of hydrogen and oxygen went from a cold shock to the hottest she could stand. She needed all the power she could muster before heading to school and she knew she had already started the day in a dark place. Once she realized that Emily had fallen back to sleep after their nightmare episode in the middle of the night, she slipped into her own nightmare.

_Chasing Emily through the woods was a recurring dream Paige had had several times, each experience more complex than the last. She was barefooted and the brush underneath was sharp and dug into her toes and heals with each passing step. It was in the middle of the day and she could not keep up with the running brunette, always just a step behind from grabbing at her shoulder or her arm. Calling out, Emily ignored her as if she was deaf and continued a strenuous pace that even Paige was having trouble keeping up with. All of a sudden Paige was knocked onto the ground and with a heavy thud the wind was knocked out of her. Standing above her was Alison wielding a knife. Jumping onto her torso, Alison held the blade to her throat. "I own you now!" she screamed. _

Standing under the blisteringly hot water Paige recalled the dream and wished she could just crawl back to bed with Emily for a very long time. She had no need to analyze it, she knew all of these things were weighting on her subconscious, and she prayed she could forget them, to turn away and never look back. Forcing herself to wash up, she reached for Emily's body wash and applied it to her own body. If she couldn't be with her all day, she was going to smell like her, use it as a comforting measure during the classes they didn't have together.

Getting out of the shower and returning to Emily's room, she noticed the girl was dressed already but was lying back in bed under the comforter. Leaving her there in silence, Paige began to dry off and get dressed. They were pretty much the same size and since they had been staying with each other their wardrobes were very mixed with items that weren't necessarily theirs. Paige now dressed in her underwear grabbed a pair of charcoal jeans and a black fitted v-neck t-shirt. It was colder fall than usual which caused Paige to also grab a gray zip-up out of Emily's closet. Unaware of the intensity Emily was watching her, she sat on the edge of the bed to put on her socks and boots, when she noticed that Emily had begun to giggle for the first time in weeks. Shocked at the sound Paige jumped and looked over at the beautiful sitting next to her. "What's so funny Fields?" she chided.

Emily pulled down the comforter to reveal that she had on a pair of black jeans and a gray v-neck. "If no one knew we were a couple, they definitely will get the memo once we get in the parking lot." "A couple of what is the better question" Paige teased. It was nice to hear Emily laugh and for just a moment it lightened the pressure they had both found each other under.

Paige crawled up to Emily and laid herself on top of her. Propping herself up, Paige leaned in and kissed Emily with such veracity it took Emily's breath away. Emily quickly threw her arms around Paige's neck and drew her in closer all the while Paige was kissing her supple lips. Emily's eyes opened and studied Paige's features closely, the dark circles under her eyes were apparent and the freckles that lived on her nose were faded, she felt the cracks in Paige's usually soft lips. She was so caught up in her own head she failed to notice Paige was failing herself. She drew the girl in tighter feeling the weight of the girl on top of her. It felt amazing to be so close, yet she knew there were miles of distance between them. Everything in Emily screamed to her to take the weight from Paige, she had already been through more heartache for one person in a lifetime, she wished it was humanly possible to save the girl from it all. With a heavy sigh, Paige lifted herself up from Emily "We should get down to breakfast and get this day over with, huh?"

Rolling out of bed the two stood up, Emily grabbing her chapstick from her dresser and catching Paige by the wrist brought her in closer to her. Uncapping the chapstick, she applied it to Paige's lips. "One step at a time love." and then kissed her. They would make it through the day together, Emily was certain of it. After barely eating breakfast Pam saw them out the door, lunches packed, and the two hopped into Emily's car and made the fifteen minute drive to Rosewood High. The two held hands the whole time, listening to Emily's ipod, surfing through her "Swim Meet Win or Die" playlist. Today was just another game the two had to win, but they were champions and thankfully had anchors in each other.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N I lied in saying I would update soon. Forgive me? School seems to continuously get in my way, considering these fine and lovely ladies are wayy more important. Anyway, I absolutely love the responses from this paily family, and I crave your reviews! I'm wondering if I can keep it going until October, but I'll try! Also thoughts on McHastings(?) I need to know the feelings! Annnnddd its far more fluffy than the last chapters but be prepared for Emily to go **_**ALL LIMA HEIGHTS. **_**Anywho, off to the races. :)**

As the car turned into the parking lot Emily and Paige caught sight of Spencer, Aria, and Hanna waiting near Spencer's truck, a tray of coffee in hand. Smiles danced across their faces, welcoming the girls with as much happiness as they could muster. Everything that was once normal was no longer, and the slightest remind of what happened dampened the mood, especially this. Although it was not unusual for the girls to get each other coffee, the welcome party in the parking lot drove home the point that the two had been out of school for two weeks, and that although they were returning, nothing would ever be normal again. It was a recurring sentiment that didn't sit well with the five girls.

As they pulled into the saved parking space and put the car into park, Paige placed her hand over Emily's, "I love you" was all she said, leaned in for a kiss and closed her eyes for a minute before reaching for the door handle. Emily caught the girl's wrist before she moved to exit the car, it was a familiar action she felt she constantly did. "Paige, you've got this. We've got this. Five hours and we're home free. It's just another meet." Emily wasn't sure if she was giving the pep-talk to Paige or herself, but Paige nodded and kissed her again. After opening the door, she hurried around the car, smiled at the girls and opened Emily's door. "After you m'lady" she gestured. All Emily could do was smile. Although she was used to Paige's chivalry, there was much more behind the sentiment and for the first time in a long time she felt a warmth spread through her body. Their fingertips grazed and there was a spark in Paige's eye that was contagious.

Emily and Paige greeted the girls with hugs, grabbed their bags from the back seat and walked hand in hand into the doors of the school. As far back as Paige could remember she hated the smell of school, the floor cleaner, the slamming sounds of lockers and the confinements of the crowded hallways. She didn't mind her classes and excelled in most academic areas when she really tried or wasn't distracted. Elementary school was a blur, she enjoyed school, and genuinely liked to learn, and loved to read. She would escape from her young reality into books of all kinds and secretly wished she was Matilda, running away to live with her second grade teacher, who she loved dearly.

Middle school proved to be more challenging, losing and gaining friends frequently in addition of joining a swim team. It was her undoing, the beginning of her obsession. She could put down books and escape under the water, devoid of gravity, devoid of reality and work every muscle in her body. She could fly in the silence of her thoughts, or rather, lack of memory from the second her body was engulfed by water. Her weightlessness continued into high school and here she was left to grow talons in additions to her wings. High school turned her into a silent fighter, here she worked her wings until they gave out beneath her and she evolved into a shark.

Emily's eyes searched the cafeteria looking for any sign of Paige, they had the same lunch period and Emily was growing panicked at each growing second she did not see her girlfriend. Hanna and Aria were making their way from the lunch counters over to the table was sitting at and as they placed their trays on the table, Emily noticed a stressed Spencer knocking through a group of students. Emily knew what happening before Spencer even made it over to the girls, standing abruptly, Emily grabbed her bag and rushed to her side, "Where?" she asked Spencer. She could feel the distress in her chest before she even knew what was wrong. "Girlsroom, second floor, science wing." The two ran into the nearest stairwell, Emily taking the stairs two by two, Spencer just a pace behind her. Throwing the doors open she rushed down the hallway. Opening the door to the restroom, Emily searched the stalls, pining for the mate to her heart.

In the last stall, feet up against the wall, back leaning on the window Emily found her girlfriend, face buried in her hands, body quivering. Dropping her bag next to the wall with a thud, Emily threw her arms around the broken Paige who was clearly having a worse day than she was. "Shhhh, baby, I'm right here. Shhhh" she repeated, rocking the girl into her embrace.

Spencer leaned against the sink, protecting the girls from any intruders who dared to move past the glare she held anytime the door opened. As the door opened a third time, Hanna and Aria entered quietly, meeting Spencer's gaze. "We came as soon as we got our stuff." whispered Aria. "What happened?" Hanna questioned Spencer, who was clearly there for whatever incident sent Paige into a spiral.

"Some asshole football players cornered her as the bell rang, asking her how it felt to be manhandled by a serial killer. They were being total dicks and when she tried to blow them off, one of them shoved her as she tried to pass them." she paused. "I tried to get to her in time, but I couldn't move quickly enough. She hauled off and decked the one asking questions. And before a full scale fight escalated, she ducked out during his recoil. I chased her here from the history wing and she just looked at me. I knew I had to find Em." Spencer recounted, whispering to the girls. "She decked him pretty hard, I'm surprised you didn't hear about it at lunch. Remind me if I ever think of crossing her again, don't let it get physical" she chided.

Spencer was both proud of Paige but also afraid for her. She knew she needed to protect her as much as she did Emily, but she also knew that Paige was capable of protecting herself to an extent. And after today's episode, she was unsure of how to do it. As the wheels of Spencer's master mind spun in the mud, Aria and Hanna stood by, listening to Emily talk Paige back to a certain reality.

"Paige. Paige, listen to me. You're okay, you're here, I'm here. Come back to me, back Paige." she cooed, as rocked the girl back and forth. And within a moments notice, Paige threw her arms around Emily's neck, clutching the girl as if life was slipping through her fingers. Silent tears streamed her face as she noticed the three other girls stand guard over them. Looking directly into Spencer's eyes, Paige thanked Spencer without words.

For the first time in her life, something in Spencer shifted, epiphanic thoughts cleared her mind. Paige was undoubtedly strong in both willpower and physical strength, she was mentally determined with a heart of gold, she was the equal match for Spencer. She was an equal match and if she could fall this hard, this deep, Spencer could fall harder. Feeling as if her own wings were clipped Spencer swallowed hard at this realization. If Paige could be so fragile and broken, Spencer would shatter into millions more pieces. Without even realizing what she was doing, she moved to Emily and Paige and threw her arms around the two, much to their surprise.

The three now stood there for what seemed like hours, but in reality was only minutes, until Hanna, in true Hanna fashion, cleared her throat rather loudly. "Why don't you three get a room" she joked, breaking the silence of tears and embraces. Paige was going to be okay. Composing herself, she apologized to the girls "Hey" she stuttered, "um.. I'm sorry I ruined everyone's lunches. I didn't.." Spencer cut her off "Hey Paige, you don't need to apologize to us. Honestly. We get it." she smiled. "How're your knuckles?" she asked. Paige looked down at the freshly bruising skin, they hurt, but it was something she was used to. She couldn't decide what to think of the situation. She was impulsive yes, they all knew that, but that guy deserved it.

Her eyes darkened, realizing that he _did deserve it. _Her line of thinking was distorted. _Was she becoming a monster who could no longer brush ill mannered comments away, but responded with blatant violence? _This day was becoming longer and longer with each second that passed. "I'm okay" Paige responded quietly, seeking the comfort of Emily's free hand to wrap into hers.

Emily processed Paige's stillness, something she had grown accustomed to in the passing weeks. Hearing Paige's thoughts, Emily broke the silence, taking all of the attention off her girlfriend "Should we try and pick up lunch leftovers?" Exiting the bathroom, Hanna and Aria departed the posse and headed to their next class, late, while Spencer made an executive decision to skip the rest of the day's classes and head out with the girls.

Although this was uncharacteristic, she recognized her own need to process, as well as her need to talk to Paige alone. If she was going to build defences, she needed to start with Paige, her newest and closest ally.

On their way out the door, three different football players followed the girls. "You think you can just get away with decking the star quarterback of the team?!" one of them yelled in their direction. Emily couldn't be stopped even though Paige and Spencer lunged toward her. "If you think Paige can hit, you should _really _see what I can _do_!" she screamed at the jocks, making her way over to them. "Remember what happened. Don't think I won't do I wouldn't do it again if I had to" she grizzled under her breath to the antagonizer. Turning on a dime, Emily walked back over to the stunned girls.

The girls walked in shock over to Spencer's truck, stopping between the two Toyotas. Emily still shaking from the adrenaline of the altercation and noticing, slipped her hands into Paige's. "I think I'm going to wear whatever the two of you are wearing tomorrow. I think I want to kick somebody's ass too" Spencer blurted out, clearly impressed and shocked by the couple. "I think I'm in love with you both."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N After much debate both here and in my real life, I decided to keep the McHastings shipping (romantically) to a minimum. Although I fall into the category with Wallflower13 of the Lindsey/Troian fangirl moment, I'll keep this strictly Paily (that and they're definitely cannon, duh) I think Spencer has a lot to accept in the way of realizing a lot of things are bigger than her. And no matter how smart or lucky she it, that won't fix everything. As for Paige and Emily kicking some ass, I think it's about time that someone did, and not in a roundabout "lets scare A, there's glass in my hair" sorta way. Thanks for sticking by me y'all, I can't believe that I get such great support and love every time I update! It's still amazing that you guise are enjoying this :)oh and PS Drunk!Paige makes an appearance lol**

Emily sunk down into the driver's seat realizing what had just happened. She threatened a man, threatened a man with murder. _I cannot believe those words came out of my mouth. My brain thought those words without me realizing and my lips and tongue formed those sounds. I threatened to kill him. My god. This is my life. _She was panicking inside, gripping the steering wheel until she realized her knuckles where white.

Paige was still standing outside the car talking to Spencer. "We love you too, but I have to deal with this now. I'm taking Emily home to her house, I'll text you in a while and let you know what's going on." she responded. Paige wasn't sure what Spencer's admission truly meant, but she didn't have time to process it now, she needed to get Emily home before the whole football team was after them. Opening the door and sliding into the car, Paige noticed that Emily was in no state to drive. "Baby, you need to switch with me, there's no way I'm going to let you drive." she instructed Emily but Em was not hearing any of it. "I'm fine" she snapped back to a shocked Paige. "I really just need to be alone right now, you don't get it do you?" she yelled. Paige could see that Emily wasn't so mad at Paige, but more at herself, the situation, the world. She was processing and grieving, she was a churning hurricane with no means of hitting landfall. Paige could logically understand this; she knew Emily had stood up for her, but at the cost of damaging herself, again. The frustration reminded her of their first, unexpected kiss, but this would not be solved by a date or more kisses, Emily needed space to think.

Paige broke the silence, " Okay, I'll leave you alone, but you can't stay here. Please go home or to the Brew or anywhere you won't be bothered by those stupid jocks, just text me and let me know you're safe. Please?" She leaned over and kissed Emily on the cheek. It broke her to know that Emily was so angry, but she knew if she hovered, the situation would only escalate. She grabbed her bag and hopped out of the car as fast she got in it.

Spencer watched the whole altercation in silence from the driver's seat, reading the girl's body language, and noticing that Paige was now left without a ride. Emily backed the car out of the parking space and sped through the parking lot, leaving Paige in the dust. "This is just so fucked" Spencer stated through her now open passenger side window. Paige turned around, "You have no idea" she responded "I guess I'm walking home then." "Seriously McCullers?" Spencer questioned the brunette, "…get in the car now." And upon her command, Paige opened the door and got in the truck.

Paige had never been to Spencer's house, but knew enough about it to know that it was massive. Once she entered, she began to understand all that was Spencer Hastings. Everything in the living room and formal dining room was authentic. Statutes, Renaissance paintings, decorative plates, down to the painted wineglasses in the cabinet, it all screamed Hastings. She couldn't help but take in the sights, the interior was a history lesson in itself, and Paige was wide-eyed in awe.

"You live in a museum" was all Paige could muster to say. "I hate it" Spencer dryly responded, dropping her bag on the counter and opening the fridge "can I get you something to eat?" she continued. Paige was too busy looking at the pictures of a young Spencer Hastings, dressed and posed in perfect formal wear from the prior years. Although Paige was ubiquitously Emily's, Spencer was attractive to Paige in her own right.

"McCullers. I'm making something to eat. What do you want? Earth to McCullers?" Spencer was a mix of annoyed with Paige as well as embarrassed by her family photos. There was one of both her and Melissa for each year they were in school, as well as two graduation pictures of Melissa. She hated that her mother refused to take them down even though both girls made repeated requests for their removal. Lost in thought, imagining a young Spencer Hastings, Paige had not realized that the girl was now right beside her. "Wine or maybe something a little stronger?" Spencer whispered in her ear, causing Paige to jump. "Jesus Christ, Spencer. One, do not sneak up on a girl who decked the star quarterback of the football team not even two hours ago, and two, I don't love wine." She smiled at Spencer who was clearly not amused by Paige's ignoring.

Paige followed her back to the island where Spencer began making sandwiches. "I was serious about the drink. I'm clearly going through a streak of rebellion, seeing as I skipped class and am associating with you, I might as well continue." she laughed. She knew that the whole day was pretty fucked. There was no other way to describe it. And she planned on trying to at least try and lighten the mood. And although she knew they all had terrible experiences with alcohol, she couldn't stop herself from wanting a drink. "It's one thirty in the afternoon" replied Paige. Apprehensive, but knowing Spencer was right, figured she would follow mama bear. "…what the hell. Carpe diem."

Walking over to the freezer, Spencer grabbed a bottle of vodka, two glasses, a lime, and the tonic and proceeded to make the girls a drink. Taking their drinks and plates, Paige followed Spencer upstairs to her bedroom, which followed the décor of the house and complimented Spencer's personality perfectly. Although she didn't mind hanging out with her new afternoon drinking partner, Paige was worried about Emily. Grabbing her phone from her pocket she texted Emily. _Hey I just want to make sure you're okay. Please text me back to let me know you're safe and I promise I won't be a haunt. xx _

Emily still driving heard the buzz of her phone and quickly glanced to see who it was. Although she was mad at the situation, she knew she was wrong to take it out on Paige, and honestly wanted to make it up to her. She knew Paige was nothing but a life saver which a heart of gold, so in addition of feeling horrible, she was a wreck about hurting Paige. Pulling over to the dirt path near the boat house, she grabbed her phone and texted Paige back _I'm so sorry about before, you know my head isn't in a good place, but in my heart I can't forgive myself for yelling at you just yet. I'm at the boathouse, I need to clear my head a while. I'll let you know when I head back home. I love you more than you know. xoxo _With that sent, Emily exited the car, grabbing her sweatshirt, and walked over to the structure.

Paige and Spencer were now on their third round of drinks. It was getting later in to the afternoon; the girls had giggled their way through the past couple of hours, relentlessly making fun of each other. To anyone else it would seem if the girls were trading insults, but there was a comfort level that they had settled upon. Paige asked a million questions about Spencer's childhood and Spencer delve into Paige's hobbies, likes and dislikes. And much to their surprise, they found a lot in common beyond field hockey and Emily.

Paige was undoubtedly drunk at this point and Spencer was just a step behind. It was a surreal feeling that within a few short weeks, Spencer had come full circle in loving, hating, and loving this girl again. Feeling a headache coming on, Paige rose from Spencer's lounge chair and stumbled her way to the adjoining bathroom. It was much like her own, but featured a beautiful skylight that was now showcasing the beautiful colors of sunset. In her drunken state, she laid down on the slate tiled floor and looked up at the passing pink clouds. She convinced her drunk self that she had never seen anything as beautiful, watching the golden rays of sun dance across the puffy sky. Lying there she forgot that she was indeed laying on the bathroom floor in Spencer's house, but she was too mystified by the sights to care. She was too drunk to realize that Spencer was now banging on the door, attempting to work its handle to make sure Paige was okay.

Spencer had now gotten the door opened and noticed a giggly Paige now lying on the floor gazing up into the heavens of sunset. It was something she often did when she needed to clear her mind. The cold slate tiles, the view, and the silence of the upstairs proved to be a good meditation spot for Spencer when she wanted to escape from everything that sought to destroy her. Noticing that Paige was now glazed over from her potent and heavy handed bartending, she walked back into her room, grabbed a throw blanket and situated herself between Paige and the claw footed bathtub. Covering them both up, they just laid there and watched the sky dance in the fall breeze.

On the outskirts of town, Emily found herself wrapped up in her sweatshirt sitting on the dock of the boathouse. She found it ironic that she was escaping to a place that held so many mixed memories for her. She had first come here with her dad when she was just a kid; he launched their canoe here so many times on father/daughter fishing trips. They had spent a many summer days when he was on leave just floating on the small lake, not caring if any fish were caught, relishing the bonding they would do. There was no topic that was off limits to them in that canoe. Later she would bring Maya here to escape from the constrictions of Rosewood, the ever mindful eye of the occupants of the town, the strange looks they would often receive from the older generation whenever they would kiss in the streets. It was now their spot and they could do anything and say anything, it was their safe place. After Maya went missing, Emily would sneak here and sit on the dock, skipping stones, praying for her safe return. Bringing Nate there was a mistake, but without that interaction she would have been left with questions in her mind about Paige, and now she was there, mind full of thoughts surrounding Paige.

The longer she sat there on the dock, the more she felt at ease with her thoughts. She watched the sun set, and watched the lake ripple against the fall breeze, small green leaves brushed past her, on their resting place upon the water's surface. It was like Maya was secretly there with her, letting her know that everything was going to be alright.

In that moment, Emily let go, silent, but relieving tears streamed down her cheeks. "I'm sorry everything happened this way. I'll always love you Maya. But Paige makes me happy and you'll always be in my heart."

Sunset soon began to turn into twilight as the hours began to pass and with this Emily packed herself up and got into her car headed for home. Once she got in the car she noticed two texts from Paige. _In case you don't hear from me, I'm at Spencer's. Liquid lunch. xx _followed by _Love your lips, miss them_ which was sent sometime later. If she knew Spencer, which she did, she had an inkling that they would still be a little tipsy even at this hour. Deciding to head over to the Hastings residence, Emily buckled her seatbelt and put the car in drive.

Twenty five minutes later, Emily pulled into the driveway, noticing only Spencer's truck was parked. _Big surprise, the Hastings weren't home. I'm shocked. _she thought to herself sarcastically. Walking around to the back of the house she found the spare key and let herself in the house like normal. With as many incidences in this town, no one felt the need to move their spare keys or keep the alarms on in their houses. Some things would never change. Emily proceeded to call out Spencer and Paige's names with no response.

Figuring they were in Spencer's bedroom, she walked up the stairs and entered the room, finding evidence they had drank quite a bit of vodka, she peered into the bathroom. Both girls laid asleep on the floor, Spencer curled, spooning Paige, Paige drooling off to the side. This was too good for words. Taking out her phone, she clicked three or four pictures of the two snuggle bunnies. One week they're ready to assassinate each other, the next they're snuggled, sleeping, and drunk on the bathroom floor.

Before deciding to wake them up, Emily savored the moment, _I guess this is the new normal. _This was the start of a very beautiful friendship.


End file.
